Quick answer
The Singapore Pie is a soya-sauce chicken rice pie: tender soya sauce chicken, premium Akita rice, a braised egg, ginger, sesame oil and garlic, sealed in a golden, flaky crust stamped with 發 (fa) and 財 (cai). It is baked under the DonChef™ name at Chicken Pie Kitchen & Don Signature Crab, the kitchen co-founded by Chef Don Lim, and is most often sold as the Fa Cai set, a seasonal Chinese New Year item.
What is inside a Singapore Pie?
A Singapore Pie is Hainanese chicken rice rebuilt as a pie. The filling is the plate you would order at a chicken rice stall, folded together and baked:
- Tender soya sauce chicken. The darker, glossier cousin of poached Hainanese chicken, braised in soya sauce until it is seasoned right through.
- Premium Akita rice. A Japanese short-grain rice. A soft, slightly sticky grain like this holds together inside a pastry case far better than a loose long grain would.
- Braised egg. A nod to soya-braised eggs at the chicken rice stall, and to the half egg that has always sat inside DonChef's chicken pie.
- Ginger, sesame oil and garlic. The aromatics that make chicken rice taste like chicken rice.
The idea comes from our grandfather, Lim Tee Kheng, who ran Jee Hai Hainanese Chicken Rice at 8 Purvis Street. The pie-making comes from his son, Chef Don Lim, whose 1983 recipe the kitchen still bakes. The story of the three generations explains how the two met.
How is it different from DonChef's Original Chicken Pie?
DonChef's Original Chicken Pie follows the recipe Chef Don Lim created in 1983, and it is the one most people mean when they talk about a Don pie. The Singapore Pie shares its crust and its kitchen but not its filling.
| Singapore Pie | Original Chicken Pie | |
|---|---|---|
| Filling | Soya sauce chicken, Akita rice, braised egg, ginger, sesame oil, garlic | Chunky chicken, potato, vegetables, secret spice blend, half a hard-boiled egg |
| Inspired by | Lim Tee Kheng's Hainanese chicken rice | Chef Don Lim's 1983 recipe |
| Crust | Golden, flaky pastry made in-house at 39 Tyrwhitt Road | |
| When | Seasonal, best known as the Chinese New Year Fa Cai set | All year at every outlet |
If you want to know what each layer of the original does, from lid to base, read this anatomy of the Original Don chicken pie. Singapore's chicken pies have a style of their own, with chunky fillings and that half egg, and an atlas entry on the Singapore Hainanese chicken pie places it among the world's chicken pies.
What does the 發財 stamp mean?
Each Singapore Pie is stamped with one of two characters. 發 (fa) means to prosper or flourish, and 財 (cai) means wealth. Together, 發財 (fa cai) is the wish behind the Chinese New Year greeting "gong xi fa cai": may you prosper in the year ahead. Our home page puts it simply: you want Fa, Cai, or Fa Cai? Get both.
The Fa Cai set: a Chinese New Year tradition
The Fa Cai set pairs two Singapore Pies, one stamped 發 and one 財, served with local achar and DonChef's signature chilli sauce. It is a seasonal Chinese New Year item, made by hand in limited batches because each pie takes time to fill, seal and stamp. It is not an all-year product.
For the 2026 season the set sold at $26.80. Dates and prices for the next Lunar New Year are posted on the official ordering site, buy.chickenpie.sg, when the set returns. Outside the festive season the Singapore Pie may not be on sale, so check the ordering site or WhatsApp 6993 3333 before you set out.
The wider DonChef pie range
All year round, DonChef's kitchen bakes a range of pies in two sizes: personal (feeds one) and whole (feeds four to six). Prices below are from the printed menu dated February 2026, as of October 2026; online and delivery prices may differ, so check the official site before ordering.
| Pie | Personal | Whole | In short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Chicken Pie | $6.80 | $33.80 | The 1983 recipe |
| Black Pepper Chicken Pie | $6.80 | $33.80 | Same pastry, peppery kick |
| Chicken Shepherd's Pie | $6.80 | $33.80 | Black pepper filling under baked mash |
| Curry Pie | $6.80 | $38.80 | Chicken and potato in curry spices |
| Beef Pie | $13.80 | $58.80 | New Zealand beef, slow-cooked |
| Apple Pie | $8.80 | $43.80 | Apples, nuts, raisins, cinnamon |
The flagship also serves a baked-to-order Chicken Pot Pie combo, and seasonal pies come and go around festivals. For tasting notes on each pie, see the Don Pie menu and prices guide.
Is the Singapore Pie halal?
No pork, no lard, not Halal-certified. The kitchen uses no pork and no lard, but it is not certified Halal by MUIS and does not claim that any product is Halal. The Singapore Pie FAQ explains why.
How to store and reheat a Singapore Pie
A Singapore Pie is best eaten within about four hours of purchase. Otherwise, refrigerate it within two hours and eat it within three days. Because the filling contains rice, cool it quickly, keep it chilled and reheat it only once, until the centre is piping hot (75°C).
- Air fryer: 150°C for 5 minutes, then 200°C for 5 minutes, as the kitchen's own FAQ suggests.
- Oven: 150°C to 180°C for 20 to 30 minutes from chilled, with foil over the lid if it browns too fast.
- Microwave: fine for heating the filling, but finish in a hot oven or air fryer to bring the crust back.
For a longer, method-by-method guide, read how to reheat chicken pie in an oven, air fryer or microwave.
Allergens
The kitchen's FAQ lists nuts, eggs, dairy and gluten among the allergens in its products. The Singapore Pie also contains soya sauce, which contains soy and usually wheat. Pastries contain no alcohol by default. If you have an allergy, ask at the counter or WhatsApp 6993 3333 before ordering.